


Second Chance

by TheObscureFluffs (TearsAndFlowers)



Series: AdoreShipping [1]
Category: Sonic Boom (Cartoon), Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games)
Genre: Crossover, Crossover Pairings, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-16
Updated: 2015-04-16
Packaged: 2018-03-23 05:32:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3756265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TearsAndFlowers/pseuds/TheObscureFluffs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In Boom universe, Knuckles is heartbroken when his long-time crush, Sonic, starts dating Amy. However, after an accident in Tails' lab, he is sent to another universe, where he meets another Sonic! Could he have a chance with this Sonic? Find out in "Second Chance"!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was a collab between me and a friend (as is everything under "TheObscureFluffs" pseud). It is a crossover between Sonic Boom and the main Sonic series. Hope you enjoy!

Sonic nervously looked away, and Amy snuggled herself into him. Secretly, he was used to the treatment, but now that his friends were around, it felt... embarrassing.

"A-Amy, stoooop."

"You promised," Amy reminded him. "Tell 'em."

Sonic sighed, then turned to Knuckles, Sticks, and Tails. "Ah, if it's cool with you guys, Amy—" he paused as the pink hedgehog cleared her throat. "... _me_ and Amy wanted to make a little announcement, I guess."

Sticks and Tails turned their attention to them. Tails had a feeling he knew, but wasn't quite sure.

Knuckles had a sinking feeling that he also knew, but he didn't make it known.  
"What's up?" he asked them.

"Er... well..." Sonic blushed slightly, not used to this.

Amy giggled, then raised her hand into the air. "Sonic and I are _officially_ dating!" She stared back at him and pouted. "I had to confess first though..."

Sonic chuckled, feeling a little more comfortable now that Amy was making jokes. "Yeah yeah, but I said it back, didn't I?"

Tails smiled at them. "Good for you two!" He laughed. "I was wondering when it'd finally happen!"

Sticks crossed her arms, trying to mask her smile but having a hard time. "As long as you two don't get all mushy with each other."

"We'll try," Sonic joked as Amy cuddled back up to him excitedly.

Knuckles' heart sank. He'd had a feeling this would happen...

He put on his best fake smile. "That's great to hear!" he said.

Sonic gave him a thumb's up. "Thanks, Knuckles!"

The five continued their conversation for another few minutes, but eventually chose to go home. Sonic and Amy went off together, Sticks returned to her burrow, and Tails headed off for his house.

Knuckles, meanwhile, went to Tails' lab for some time alone. He sighed, leaning against one of Tails' machines.

"What's wrong with me?" he mumbled to himself. "I should be happy for them...but..."

Deep down, he knew the reason he was unhappy: he himself had been in love with Sonic for quite a while. But now he knew that he'd never get a chance with the hedgehog.

He wiped at the tears forming in his eyes. He felt bad for not feeling happy for Sonic and Amy, but it couldn't be helped.

"It's not fair!" he said to himself. "Why does everything always go wrong for me? It's like the universe _itself_ hates me!"

He hit the machine he was leaning against in frustration, his fist making a faint dent in the strong material. Suddenly, the machine sprang to life, making a humming sound that increased in pitch as lights began to flash on it.

"Uh oh..."

Knuckles slowly backed away from the device as it began to shake. He hoped it didn't explode; Tails wouldn't be too happy about that.

Suddenly, the echidna found himself engulfed by a bright light. He shielded his eyes with his hands.

\--

When he figured it was safe to look, he took his hands away from his eyes. Then he rubbed his eyes in confusion.

_Wha...where am I?!_

He was standing in a large city. Having only lived on an island and then a village before, this sort of place was completely unfamiliar to him.

"What is this place?" he wondered aloud.

A few people were walking through the city. The buildings towered, and there was nothing he could recognize.

A young girl, certainly younger than Tails, slowly walked up to him, making circles around him. "Aren't you Mister Knucky? When did you get so big? Why aren't you up on Angie Island? You have that em-my-rald to protect, don't cha?" she asked.

"Huh?" Knuckles became even more confused. "How do you know my name? What do you mean 'when did I get so big'? What emerald? And...where am I?"

The little girl tilted her head. "'Cause you're a hero, mister, but I don't remember you being so big." She shrugged at his last question, then looked around, catching sight of a sign in the distance. "You're in... 'Stay-shun Square'," she said, reading off the sign.

"I...I've never been here before," Knuckles replied.

_What's going on?_ he wondered. _Am I dreaming or something?_

The girl became even more confused, then jumped as a loud 'whoosh' sound came from off in the distance. She turned, and a blur of blue sped around a ways away.

She looked at Knuckles and held a hand up. "Wait right here!"

She ran a little closer, then frantically waved her arms. "Mister Sonic! Mister Soniiic!"

The blur shifted directions and headed her way, stopping in front of her as the unblurred form revealed itself.

It was Sonic, but certainly not the same Sonic that Knuckles knew. He was noticeably shorter, and lacked the sports tape and bandana; even his shoes were a little different. His arms were tan as opposed to blue, and his quills were a little neater.

His eyes though... those emerald eyes were undoubtedly the same.

He bent down to the girl and smiled. "What's up?"

She pointed behind her to Knuckles, and Sonic looked up curiously. His eyes widened as he saw the red echidna.

"U-uh..." He grinned sheepishly. "I know I joked about bein' almost as tall as ya, but I didn't think you'd take it so seriously," he said, chuckling a little.

Now Knuckles was completely confused. "Sonic? But...you're not Sonic--at least, you're not...'Sonic', Sonic..." He had no clue what he was saying.

Sonic raised a brow. "You alright, Knux?"

"Not Knuckle-Knucky," the girl corrected, pointing at Knuckles. "Different Knucky."

Sonic didn't understand at first, but began to get an idea of what was happening. "How'd ya get here, bud?" he asked, gazing back at him.

"I...I don't know..." Knuckles replied. "I was in Tails' lab, and..."

_Wait...maybe that weird machine sent me here! But...where_ is _here?_ That was the question he was determined to find the answer to.

_Why would Knuckles go to Tails' lab?_ Sonic wondered. _Or... at least, the Knuckles I know..._

"How 'bout I take ya to see my Tails then?" he offered. "We'll figure this out, don't worry."

_Of course! If there's a Sonic here, then there's a Tails too! He should be able to figure this out._

"Um...sure!" Knuckles was too bewildered by the situation to say much at this point. "Lead the way!"

Sonic nodded and gave him a reassuring smile. He thanked the girl, then led Knuckles out of Station Square.

However, he found himself occasionally looking back at the echidna during the trip. Realizing he was doing so, he chuckled sheepishly and tried to apologize. "H-heh, sorry. Don't mean to keep starin' at cha. It's just... you look _way_ different from the Knuckles I know," he explained.

"What does the other me look like?" Knuckles asked curiously.

Sonic gazed at Knuckles closely to draw comparisons. "Well, first off, he's not all bulky like you are; he's really strong, but you wouldn't guess it by lookin' at 'im," he began. "He's also _waaaay_ shorter. He's only a little taller than I am." He put his hand up to show how tall the other Knuckles was.

"He wears different gloves than me too - kinda like boxing gloves - and his shoes are different than yours."

He opened his mouth to say something else, but stopped himself before he could. The Knuckles he knew had a much harsher gaze, while the one next to him had a more... gentle one? It was weird seeing it on him, even if it wasn't the same Knuckles, but... admittedly, it was kinda refreshing. He liked it.

"So...he's like a little version of me?" Knuckles replied.  _Maybe I could call him Knuckles Jr,_ he thought with a smirk.

Sonic laughed. "Yeah, sure, a little version of you!" he agreed. "Just don't tell _him_ that!"

They walked for a little longer until they reached a large laboratory. Sonic spun around, then held up a finger. "I'm gonna run things by Tails so he knows what's goin' on, alright? Back in a Sonic second!" he exclaimed, rushing inside.

As Knuckles waited, he was amazed by the building he was standing just outside of. It looked even more impressive than the lab that his Tails had. Though of course, he wouldn't tell Tails that.

Like he promised, Sonic came right back and took Knuckles inside. Tails was at his computer desk, though spun his chair towards the two as they got there. He looked fairly different from the Tails that Knuckles knew, but only by clothes.

"Sonic filled me in on everything," Tails told him, though trying not to stare at him _too_ much; it was weird seeing someone so alike, yet so different from Knuckles. "I know it's probably not the answer you wanted, but you have a Tails too, right? It might be best to just wait things out until he tries to contact our universe, as you seem to be from an entirely different dimension," he explained.

"Different dimension?" Knuckles vaguely recalled an incident involving alternate dimensions. "But...how will my Tails know where I am?"

"Sonic mentioned that you were in his lab when you got teleported away, right?" Tails asked. "Once they notice that you're gone, he'll probably start scanning around and figure it out himself." He had to resist the urge to ask Knuckles all sorts of questions; his curiosity was peaked, but he knew that the more important thing was making sure that Knuckles would be comfortable in this 'new world' until a way back to his own universe came up.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Knuckles replied. "But how long is _that_ gonna take? And in the meantime, where am I gonna stay? This place is _really_ different, and I don't know anything about it..."  
"I can't say for sure how long it'll take," Tails said sadly. "But I'm sure your friends are worried about you, so I hope it won't be too long. As for where you'll stay..." He thought for a moment, then looked at Sonic. "Sonic, you have that house you barely use, don't cha? Would it be alright if he stayed there?"

"'Course it would! He needs a place to stay, right?" Sonic looked up at Knuckles and smiled. "That cool with you?"

"Sounds good to me!" Knuckles replied with a smile.

_I wonder if this Sonic is dating..._ he couldn't help but wonder. He hoped Sonic didn't notice the slight blush that tinted his cheeks.

"Alright then!" Sonic exclaimed. "Should we walk, or do you wanna take the 'Sonic Express'?" he asked, grinning playfully. "Heh, it'd be no problem. I bet I can lift you!"

"Oh yeah?" Knuckles raised a brow. "I'd like to see you try!" he added with a silly smirk.

Sonic opened up his arms. "C'mere then! Get ready to be proven wrong!" he said.

"Uh...okay." Knuckles walked up to him, not entirely sure what he was supposed to do. Was he just supposed to let Sonic hold him? His cheeks grew warm at the thought.

Sonic's grin widened. In an instant, he lifted Knuckles into his arms, secured him, then took off for his house, speeding along with no problem.

Knuckles was very surprised, and also very impressed. He held onto Sonic so he wouldn't feel like he was going to fall. He hoped that the hedgehog didn't notice him blushing.

"How's the ride feel?" Sonic asked. "Exciting?"

"V-very!" Knuckles replied.

He noticed that this Sonic seemed much more...cheerful than his Sonic. While his Sonic usually wore a grumpy look on his face and sometimes made sarcastic comments, this Sonic was much more upbeat and smiled a lot more. It was kind of refreshing, Knuckles had to admit.

Sonic finally slowed to a stop as they reached his house, setting Knuckles down and reaching into the cuff of his glove. He pulled out a key, then slipped it into the doorknob, a satisfying 'click' sound being heard as the door opened for him.

"It's not anything special, but I don't come here often anyway," Sonic told Knuckles as he walked inside, plopping down on the couch. "Will it work for ya?"

Knuckles looked around in awe. "Yeah..."

It was a really nice place. And compared the simple houses and shacks he was used to in the village, this house was almost fancy. And of course, Knuckles had never lived in a house before (even if it was only temporary), so this was kind of exciting for him.

Sonic giggled at how different he was from the Knuckles he knew. So curious and innocent. "I guess it probably looks a little weird from what the houses in your world looks like, but it's a comfy place at least." He slid to the side of the couch to make room so he could offer him a place to sit.

Knuckles sat down next to Sonic.

"You've got a really nice place here!" he said with a smile.

"Thanks!" Sonic tossed his key around in his hand. "I end up travelin' around so much and sleeping wherever that I never really come back here, but it's always nice to have at least one place of my own to go back to in case I need it, y'know?"

Knuckles nodded. "Yeah... For me, I never really have a place to stay. I usually just sleep outside."

Sonic frowned. "Oh yeah?"

He thought for a moment, then left his place on the couch and went over to a plant hanging by the window. He lifted the pot carrying it up, then pulled out a key from underneath.

"Here." He set the plant down and tossed the key to Knuckles. "In case you get stuck here for a little longer and need a place to crash in case I'm not around," he said with a small smile.

Knuckles smiled, trying to conceal yet another oncoming blush. "Th-thanks."

Sonic nodded, then sat back down on the couch. He gazed at Knuckles for a moment before his gaze slowly shifted to the sports tape around his arms. "Uh... so, if it's cool for me to ask..." He pointed to all the sports tape he was wearing. "Is that just a style in your world, or are you coverin' up a bunch of cuts?" He lightly touched Knuckles' arm, looking a bit concerned.

"It's athletic tape," Knuckles explained. "Most of my friends wear it too. Including you--the you from my world, I mean."

"Oh yeah, I remember you sayin' somethin' about another me..." Sonic muttered. Getting an almost childlike curiosity, he leaned closer to Knuckles and grinned. "What's that other Sonic like? I bet he's not nearly as cool as me, heh!" He chuckled jokingly.

Knuckles smirked at Sonic's comment.

"Well..." He paused to think of how to describe his Sonic. "He's kinda grumpy all the time...but he can be really fun too! And he's confident, and hands--" Knuckles stopped as he realized what he was about to say. He fake coughed. "I mean, uh...fast."

Though confused about Knuckles changing his wording partway through, Sonic still seemed interested in what he had to say.

"Grumpy, huh? Can't imagine that." He leaned back against the couch, still sporting that smile of his. "Maybe he needs more chili dogs in his life," he joked.

Knuckles laughed. "He loves those!" he said.

Sonic joined in on his laugh. "He better! He's me, after all!"

Still a little curious, he ran through a few more questions in his head. "So... you seem way different than this universe's Knuckles. What makes you so... I dunno, 'happy', I guess?" He couldn't think of a better word, but he tried.

Knuckles shrugged. "I dunno...what do you mean by that? Is your Knuckles grumpy or something?"

"A little," Sonic replied. "...Well, a lot." He chuckled. "He spends all of his time up on Angel Island guarding the Master Emerald, so he doesn't get out much. I don't even think he likes me most of the time," he admitted.

"What's the 'Master Emerald'?" Knuckles asked, confused.

Sonic blinked, surprised that he didn't know. "Uh, well, it's a little complicated," he said, though he did his best to come up with a good explanation. "It's this _huge_ emerald that has a bunch of mystical powers. It has a connection to the Chaos Emeralds and—" He paused, seeing that Knuckles had no idea what he was talking about. "Eheh, sorry. Guess you don't have any of those in your world, huh?"

Knuckles shook his head. "Nope."

"Ah well," Sonic said, shrugging. "Anyway, I guess he just doesn't like making friends and stuff 'cause he's so dedicated to guarding that emerald. He can be a real stick in the mud because of it."

"I guess your Knuckles _is_ really different," Knuckles mused.

"Yeah, _way_ ; different," Sonic confirmed. "...Oh, wait!" he suddenly shouted. "I just remembered!"

He shot Knuckles a grin, then bolted into another room. When he came back, he held a glowing gem-like object in his hand.

"Figured you should at least see what a Chaos Emerald is," he said, holding it out to him.

"Oooh..." Knuckles stared at it curiously. "It's shiny!"

Sonic giggled. "Yeah, but that's not all it's good for! Check it!"

He gripped the emerald tight, then focused. "Chaos... Control!"

He flashed white, then was suddenly gone. However, another flash occurred on the other side of the room and Sonic reappeared there. He focused again, then teleported to another side of the room. After one more disappearance, he reappeared on Knuckles' lap, staring up at him with a big smile. "How's _that_ for cool?"

"Really cool!"

Knuckles then realized the fact that Sonic was in his lap. He turned his head, hoping to hide yet another oncoming blush.

Sonic was a little skeptical. "Everything okay? You've had trouble lookin' at me ever ever since ya got here..."

"I-I'm fine," Knuckles replied nervously. "It's nothing..."

Despite not believing him, Sonic decided to let his curiosity go. "Well... alright, I guess..."

Knuckles sighed internally. He didn't want to push Sonic away like that, but every time he looked at him, he was reminded of the heartache he was currently going through.

Thought people didn't give him a lot of credit for it, Sonic was amazing at reading eyes and seeing when something was bothering a person. He couldn't quite pin what Knuckles' problem was, and he wished he could help, but still, they didn't know each other that well yet, so he figured he'd let it slide; at least for now.

"So, Knux... anything y'might be interested in doing?" he asked.

Knuckles shrugged. "I dunno. What is there to do around here?"

"Ah, right," Sonic mumbled. "You don't know a lot about this world..." He thought for a moment. "How about I show ya around a little? You could get used to things."

"Sure!" Knuckles replied with a grin.

Sonic got up from the couch and bowed, faking a 'fancy' accent. "Shall we go on our way, good sir?" he joked.

Knuckles stood up. "Lead the way!"

Sonic left the house with Knuckles, then led him back to Station Square.

\--

"This place has just about everything," he said. "There a place for clothes, a bunch of restaurants, some stands, a library; anything you'd need!" he explained.

"Wow..." Knuckles looked all around him. "I've never seen a place this...big!"

Sonic smiled and looked back at him. "Yeah, I guess your world's probably a little more rustic or something."

The two walked around a bit more, until Sonic suddenly froze in place. The door to the clothing store slid open, and Amy stepped out, looking quite different than the Amy Knuckles knew in terms of her outfit. In a quick motion, Sonic zipped around and hid behind Knuckles as best as he could, gritting his teeth.

Amy looked around, then happily skipped off.

"...Is she gone?" Sonic asked, too nervous to poke his head out to see.

"Yeah...?" Knuckles replied, confused.

"Okay, good." Sonic nervously got out from behind Knuckles. "Sorry, that's just Amy."

"I could see that," Knuckles replied. "But why are you hiding from her?" he asked, raising a brow.

Sonic chuckled weakly, then turned to him. "W-well, she's a good friend and all, but she's a little, uh... 'forceful' with me," he explained. "She keeps thinking we're a thing, but... no way, nu-uh."

Both of Knuckles' eyebrows shot up. "So...you two aren't dating?"

Sonic made a slightly disgusted face. "Wha—no way!" He made an 'x' with his hands. "She's a great teammate n' all, but ugh, I end up on the wrong side of her hammer _way_ too often." He rubbed his head and winced just thinking about it. "She'll say I'm her boyfriend and try to get me to marry her, but..."

He frowned, feeling slightly bad. "I just don't like her that way, y'know?"

Knuckles was very surprised by this, but also a bit relieved. Did he dare to hope...?

"Huh, I guess the Amy here is really different from the Amy I know," he mused. "So...are you dating _anyone?_ " He was embarrassed to ask such a question, but he had to know.

"Hm?" Sonic was surprised at the question, but shook his head anyway. "Nah. No one ever really clicked with me," he replied. "'Sides, I dunno. Don't see it happenin' for me, I guess." He put his hands behind his head casually. "Not that I'd hate to have someone like that, but you wouldn't believe how many girls've confessed to me. Even a few guys. Never felt anything though."

"Hmm." So Sonic wasn't dating anyone...

_Could...could I have a chance with him?_ Knuckles wondered. _I dunno, probably not. And besides, I'm not gonna be here forever..._

Still, despite what his mind was telling him, his heart hoped that maybe, just maybe, he could get a second chance in this world.

"Why do ya ask?" Sonic asked curiously, tilting his head. "Is the other me datin' someone in your world?"

"Y-yeah...he is..." Knuckles tried to hide his sadness best he could.

"Ah..." Despite his best attempts, Sonic still noticed Knuckles' sadness. "Hey, what's up, Knux?" he asked, placing his hand gently over Knuckles'.

Knuckles blushed. "I-it's nothing..." he stammered.

Sonic frowned, though also knew that this wouldn't be the right place to talk to him about it.

"Well..." He looked around, then grinned and ran over to a stand nearby, seeming to be ordering something. A short moment later, he came back and held out a cone filled with green and magenta ice cream. "Here," he said with a gentle smile, holding a cone with vanilla ice cream in his other hand, likely for him.

Knuckles' face brightened. He took the ice cream cone with a big smile.

"Thanks!" he said as he began to enjoy the treat.

"Grape-flavored," Sonic told him, pointing to the ice cream on top of the cone. "You like grapes just like the Knuckles here does, right?" he guessed.

"I love grapes!" Knuckles replied in delight.

Sonic giggled, clearly happy to see him less upset.

As he went to eat his ice cream, he felt a tugging on one of his back quills and turned around, seeing a boy holding a paper and pencil up to him. He faked a pout, staring at his ice cream since he needed both hands to sign an autograph, then smirked and shoved nearly half of the cone into his mouth, making the boy chuckle as Sonic scribbled down his name. He handed the objects back, then bit down and took the remaining part of the cone back into his hand, looking back at Knuckles as the boy ran off.

"Heh, sorry; I get that a lot."

"It's fine," Knuckles replied. He was just enjoying getting to spend time with Sonic--a Sonic that was still single.

Sonic swallowed the rest of his cone, then stared around the city for anything else Knuckles could be interested in.

"...Hey, we could go check out the music store!" he suggested, pointing to a shop not too far away. "I can play some serious guitar," he said proudly.

"Really?" Knuckles grinned. "I'm really good at the piano!"

"Seriously?" Sonic asked, clearly surprised. "I'd love to hear that!" he exclaimed.

"Really?" Knuckles grinned. "Well, if there's a piano I can use, then I'd love to play for you!" he added with a wink.

Sonic nodded and winked back, grabbing his hand and heading into the music store. He gave a quick greeting to the cashier, then rushed over to an electric guitar and played a quick few notes for Knuckles.

"Nice!"

Knuckles spotted a piano nearby. He sat down and began to play. He didn't even need sheet music; he knew this piece by heart. As he played, his surroundings seemed to fade away, and he became lost in the beautiful music.

Sonic's ears twitched up and down as he heard Knuckles play. He had to admit, he was really good and it was beautiful to listen to.

As he caught onto how the tune went, he set the electric guitar down and replaced it with an acoustic. He sat down at the edge of Knuckles' seat, then began to play along.

Knuckles heard the guitar joining in and glanced next to him. He saw Sonic there, playing along with him, and he smiled. As they played together, the rest of the world disappeared. It was just him and Sonic.

Sadly, he soon reached the end of the piece. Still, he was grinning wide, having really enjoyed their piano and guitar duet.

Sonic stopped too as he heard Knuckles stop, resting his hands on the guitar with a soft smile.

Though, he nearly jumped as he heard people clapping, looking up from his guitar to see a hoard of people gathered around them, clearly entranced by the performance. Sonic blushed slightly, surprised by all the attention, then turned to Knuckles and winked, giving him a thumb's up.

Knuckles blushed too, not used to having _this_ much attention, especially for his piano playing. He was thrilled that they seemed to enjoy it, though.

Once the crowd cleared, Sonic set the guitar down and gave a sheepish smile. "I didn't even notice 'em 'til we stopped playin'!" he admitted, laughing a little at the thought.

"I didn't notice them either!" Knuckles replied. "I don't usually have a lot of people to listen to me play," he admitted.

"You should!" Sonic told him. "You're really great! ...At, uh, playin', y'know." Sonic flushed a little more and chuckled.

_...What was that?_

He gazed at Knuckles, a little longer than usual, then quickly averted his gaze, as if realizing the fact. "Anyway, do ya see anything you like? I've got some rings on hand," he offered.

Knuckles tilted his head in confusion and curiosity. "What do you use rings for?"

"Money," Sonic replied simply.

"Ohhhh."

Knuckles looked around. He spotted a piano song book and picked it up, skimming through it. All of these songs were new to him, and they looked like they'd be a good challenge to play.

Sonic noticed how interested he was in the book, then took it off his hands and grinned. "Consider it bought!"

He went over to the cashier, purchasing it and signaling Knuckles to follow him out the door.

Knuckles grinned happily as he followed Sonic out the door.

"So...what now?" he asked.

"Mm... well..."

Sonic glanced up at the sky, noticing that it was getting pretty dark. "Probably best to get cha back to my place; y'can get settled in and stuff," he replied, starting to head back to his house.

"Oh, okay." Knuckles didn't want this day to end, but he knew Sonic was right.

\--

The two got back to their house, and Sonic strolled inside, taking Knuckles down the hall and into the bedroom. "This is your room," he said plainly, gesturing his hand out. "Or, well, technically, it's mine, but you can use it 'til you gotta go home."

"But...where will you sleep?" Knuckles asked.

"I'm used to sleepin' wherever," Sonic replied. "I'll probably crash on the couch or somethin'."

"No, you should have the bed," Knuckles insisted. He felt guilty about making Sonic sleep on the couch.

"You're my guest, aren't cha? You deserve it," Sonic argued.

"But it's your house!" Knuckles replied. "You deserve the bed!"

Sonic chuckled, waving a hand dismissively. "Night, Knux."

He attempted to walk out of the bedroom.

Knuckles gently grabbed his arm, tugging him towards the bed.

"It's your house, you shouldn't have to sleep on the couch!" he argued.

Sonic glanced at him, then pulled back slightly and held his ground. "Heh, my house, my rules!"

"But I'll feel bad for making you sleep on the couch!" Knuckles responded, tugging Sonic's arm a little harder.

Sonic tugged back even harder. "Don't worry about it, Knux! I'll be fine!" he assured. "I do this all the time!"

"But I don't deserve the bed!" Knuckles insisted, tugging even harder.

Unfortunately, he tugged too hard, and he fell onto the floor on his back--with Sonic laying on top of him. He blushed hard when he realized the situation.

Sonic blinked, staring down at the echidna. He gazed up at the bed, then smirked. "So that's how it's gonna be, huh?" he asked.

He suddenly began to wrestle with Knuckles, chuckling cheerfully. While he didn't have the strength, he had the flexibility.

Knuckles was both taken by surprise and rather impressed by Sonic's skill. However, he wasn't about to let the hedgehog win. He fought back best he could, but he found it hard to keep a straight face while doing so.

Sonic fought right back, pushing back against Knuckles when he could. The two occasionally rolled about and slammed into objects, but they were having fun regardless.

Eventually, however, they both tired out, and collapsed on the floor next to each other, laughing.

"H-hehe," Sonic chuckled, trying to stop his laughter so his could manage a sentence. "Heheh-hey! You're not too bad!"

"Heh...you're pretty good too," Knuckles said between breaths, grinning.

Sonic grinned back, then slowly sat up and yawned, leaning over Knuckles' body. "So you're gonna sleep on the bed then?" he asked with a giggle, bending over and resting his arms on the echidna's stomach, nearly laying his head down there too. He instantly regretted the decision, as the warmth radiating off of Knuckles just made Sonic more tired.

Knuckles' face flushed at the close physical contact.

He sighed in defeat. "I guess so..."

It wasn't just the fact that Sonic was sleeping on the couch anymore--it was also that, well...he didn't want Sonic to leave his side.

"Yeah, so you better... b-better..." Sonic rested his head down on Knuckles, his eyelids drooping slightly. "...mm..." He curled up, falling asleep against the echidna almost instantly.

Knuckles couldn't help but giggle at this. Sonic just looked so cute when he was sleeping. Knuckles blushed as he realized what he had just thought.

_Well, he said he wanted to sleep on the couch..._

Knuckles almost considered letting him sleep beside him in the bed, but then he realized that Sonic might not be comfortable with that. So he carefully picked up the hedgehog, carrying him in his arms as he headed to the living room. He gently laid Sonic down on the couch. Knuckles smiled softly as saw how peaceful and content the hedgehog looked. Did he dare...?

Without thinking, he bent over a bit and planted a small kiss on Sonic's cheek. Then his face turned completely red (at least, more red than usual) when he realized what he'd just done. He quickly (but quietly) ran out of the room and back into the bedroom, where he dived under the bed covers and covered his face with them in embarrassment.

_What the heck, Knuckles?!_ he thought to himself. _That was a really stupid thing to do!_

Despite his embarrassed and flustered state, his exhaustion took over, and he quickly passed out.


	2. Chapter 2

Hours later, in the early morning, Sonic slowly woke up, stretching out before pushing himself up into a sitting position. How'd he fall asleep again? He remembered wrestling with Knuckles, then... did he fall asleep on him?

He rubbed his head, not able to recall. He knew that there was a warm sensation across his cheek for a moment, but he didn't bother thinking about it.

_He'll probably be hungry. I'll run out and get him some breakfast._

He stood up, then rushed out the door and headed for the nearest cafe, wondering if Knuckles would be up when he got back.

* * *

Knuckles stretched and yawned. He was confused by his surroundings for a moment, then he remembered the previous day's events.

_I hope Sonic doesn't know about me kissing him..._ he thought, his face flushing at the memory.  
His stomach growled. "Oh man, I'm starving..." he mumbled to himself.

A minute or so later, the door slowly began to creak open. Sonic poked his head in, looking cautious, but quickly brightened up as he saw that Knuckles was awake.

"Mornin'!" he greeted, walking in while carrying two to-go boxes. "Brought ya some breakfast; eggs and pancakes." He held one of the boxes out to Knuckles, then smiled. "Don't worry. There's a fork and stuff in there too."

Knuckles' sleepy face instantly lit up. "Thanks!" he said, taking the box.

Sonic sat down next to him on the bed, opening his own box to reveal a chili dog. He had planned to scarf it down like he usually did, but for some reason it just didn't feel right doing so in front of Knuckles, so he ate at it a bit more slowly.

Knuckles happily ate his breakfast. He was very flattered that Sonic had gone out and gotten it for him.

_My Sonic would never do that for me,_ he thought, chuckling internally.

"How is it?" Sonic asked, wanting to be sure. "I go to that cafe all the time, but I asked them to surprise me with your food since I wasn't sure what ya liked." He looked slightly apologetic, wishing he'd asked before he left.

"It's great!" Knuckles replied as he ate. "Oh, sorry, shouldn't talk with my mouth full," he apologized.

Sonic laughed. "Don't worry about it. Whatever you do's cool with me," he said.

Knuckles smiled. This Sonic was definitely very different from the one he knew. Unlike his Sonic, this world's Sonic didn't seem to get annoyed with him so easily. It was a nice change of pace, Knuckles had to admit.

"...So, Knux," Sonic began, practically inhaling the rest of his chili dog as it went straight down his throat. "What do ya like to do?" he asked. "Even though I know the Knuckles from my universe, you're way different, so I wanna figure you out, I guess."

Knuckles thought for a moment. "Well...usually I'd be hanging out on the beach with my friends and playing volleyball. Or if everyone else is busy, I'd work out, or practice piano."

"Huh..." Sonic laid back against the bed and thought a bit. "Sounds like a lotta fun... but..."

He looked over at Knuckles. "I dunno. Your smile changed a little when ya mentioned your friends..." he mused.

"D-did it?" Knuckles hadn't even realized it. Thinking about his friends had caused a twinge of sadness in his heart.

Sonic nodded, then sat back up, looking concerned. "I know I'm not your Sonic, but you can still talk to me if something's up," he offered.

Knuckles didn't know what to say. He felt comfortable around this Sonic, and he felt bad for pushing him away. But what was he supposed to do, tell this Sonic that he had a crush on the other Sonic? There was no way he could do that.

Sonic could feel that he was nervous. Perhaps it was something too personal? "...No big deal. I won't make ya tell me," he said, averting his gaze. "Just wanted to help if I could..."

Knuckles felt bad, but he just couldn't talk about his crush. Although...

"Well...it's just...you're probably the nicest person I've ever met," Knuckles said. "You're one of the only people I know that doesn't think I'm stupid..."

He wasn't sure why he was admitting any of this. He just felt like he could talk to Sonic about this.

Sonic raised his brows in surprise, a blush dusting his cheeks. "U-uh, thanks... but, why would I think you're stupid anyway?" he asked. "You never came off as dumb to me..."

Knuckles was very surprised. "R-really?"

This was the first time he could remember anyone saying that to him.

Sonic nodded. "Yeah, really."

Knuckles was stunned. "B-but...I don't understand things very well, and I don't get half the jokes my friends tell, and I'm not very clever...h-heck, I can't even read!"

He was starting to choke up. All of these feelings that he'd tried to keep buried were now rushing to the surface.

Sonic frowned, crawling closer to Knuckles. "H-hey, c'mon. Look, you're not stupid to me, okay?" He shrugged casually. "So what if ya can't read? I can't swim and I sink like a rock in water; Eggman even knows it and uses it against me half the time," he told him. He gripped Knuckles' shoulder a bit, then gave him a mild glare. "I dunno who told ya that you were stupid, but it's not true. If _anyone_ tries to talk to you like that again, you gimme a call and I'll wallop 'em until they stop, alright?" he asked, making a small punch motion to emphasize his point. He paused, an emotion flashing in his eyes that couldn't quite be placed, then pulled away and smiled, though it wasn't as big as he usually made it. "Even if I'm a universe away..."

That did it.

Knuckles couldn't control the tears that spilled from his eyes. No one had ever been this kind to him before, and it was overwhelming.

"K-Knux!" Sonic cried out, worried that he'd said something wrong. Not sure what to do, he got close again and gently wrapped his arms around the echidna, letting him cry as much as he wanted to.

"Ah... s-sorry..." he murmured, dropping his gaze to the floor.

"N-n-no, d-don't be..." Knuckles stammered. He wanted to say more, but his sobbing made it difficult to speak any more.

Sonic was confused at his phrasing. Wasn't it his fault that Knuckles was crying? Still, he figured he'd obey him for now, lightly stroking his back as Knuckles continued to sob.

After a while, Knuckles had calmed down significantly.

"Sorry you had to see me like that," he mumbled in embarrassment.

Sonic shook his head. "Everyone gets like that sometimes. You just needed to let some emotion out."

"Th-thanks." Knuckles sniffled and wiped his eyes. "My Sonic is never this..." He paused to think of the right word. "...understanding?"

Sonic blushed a little, but tried to keep himself composed. "Well, I try... I've rescued so many people in the world and been to so many places. I love seein' people smile, so I gotta do my best, y'know?"

Knuckles smiled. "Yeah..." He wondered if he was starting to love this Sonic even more.

Sonic smiled back, then turned his head as he heard a ringing coming from the living room. "Ah. That's Tails callin'," he muttered. He got up, then ran into the other room to answer the communicator sitting on the table.

Knuckles sat and waited for him to return.

_It's weird..._ he thought, _I almost don't want to leave here. I don't want to leave my friends back at home, but..._  
He shook his head. Feelings could be very confusing sometimes.

After a while, Sonic returned and dug out his Chaos Emerald from underneath his bed. "Tails said that he's got some news for us down at his lab, and that we should bring the Chaos Emerald with us."

Knuckles stood up. "We should get going then," he said. He didn't want to keep Tails waiting. That would be kind of rude, he figured.

Sonic nodded, and the two headed off.

* * *

Once they got to Tails' lab, Sonic invited himself and Knuckles in, staring over at the fox, who sat at his computer.

"Yo, Tails!" Sonic greeted.

Tails smiled and turned to the two. "Hey, guys! Thanks for gettin' here so fast. I've got great news!" he exclaimed.

"What's the news?" Knuckles asked, smiling at Tails' excitement.

"Well, like I predicted, the Tails in your world indeed figured out that you got teleported here. We've been able to communicate through text, though unfortunately any sort of video isn't possible," Tails explained. "However, we managed to figure out that sending you home shouldn't be too big of a deal. I have a machine similar to the one in your universe that sent you here. The only thing we need is four Chaos Emeralds so we'll have enough power to focus the teleportation, otherwise you'd just get sent to a random universe."

"Alright, seems simple enough," Sonic said. "I've got an emerald, and so do you, so that's two."

Tails nodded. "And Knuckles - the one not standing next to you, Sonic - has one as well if I recall correctly."

"So then we'd just need one more, right?" Knuckles concluded.

_And then I can go home... But, I kind of want to stay here longer..._ He sighed internally. Yep, feelings were very confusing. Tails nodded. "That's correct!"

He turned, then showed the two a small robot with wings. "These are little emerald trackers. They can technically locate and emerald, but only if it's in a very close vicinity. I had them scour around all night, and they actually detected an emerald!"

Tails pulled out a map, then handed it over to Knuckles. "This shows the general area where the emerald is. That little device on the map will blink more rapidly when you get closer to the emerald. You can pick up the third emerald from Knuckles, then head to the area on the map to get the fourth. I'll even loan you the Tornado!" he said.

"Cool!" Knuckles replied. Then he smirked. "Looks like I'll get to meet myself, then."

"Alright, here's the keys to the Tornado," Tails said, handing said keys over to Sonic, who smiled at him.

"Cool. Thanks, Tails!"

Sonic led Knuckles through the lab and out the back door, revealing a few different planes that Tails had built. "Let's see, let's see... ahah!"

Sonic walked up to a red plane and hopped up onto one of the wings. However, something slowly dawned on him. "Uhh... don't s'pose you know how to fly a plane... or how to keep your balance on the wings?" he asked Knuckles.

Knuckles shook his head no.

"W-well, see... the Tornado's a one-seater," Sonic said. "But... the seat's pretty big since there's gotta be room for Tails' tails. So, maybe if you sat in the seat, and I sat on your lap..." His voice trailed off slightly as he flushed pink.

Knuckles blushed. He was nervous about doing this, but there weren't any other options, so...

"S-sure, that works."

"A-alright. Up we go, I guess," Sonic said, getting out of Knuckles' way so he could sit down in the seat.

Knuckles plopped down into the seat. _Well, here goes..._

Sonic hesitated, then got down right with him, resting on his lap. He saw all of the controls in front of him, but it was far too easy to focus on the heat he felt coming from behind him; Knuckles was surprisingly comfortable.

"Is this too uncomfortable for you?" Knuckles asked. His face was flushed from having Sonic in his lap. Secretly though, he actually really liked the close physical contact.

Likewise, though he wouldn't admit it if asked, Sonic was actually pretty comfortable with Knuckles there. "Nah, I'm alright. Uh... ready to go?" he questioned.

Knuckles gave a thumbs up. "Yep, I'm ready!"

"Alright, take off!" Sonic exclaimed. He started up the plane, then took off, looking around at the sights. "...Oh yeah!"

He smiled and turned his head, seeing that Knuckles' size was causing the place with the seatbelt to be covered up. He took his hands off the controls for a moment, then grabbed Knuckles' hands and pulled them around himself. He placed one of Knuckles' hands over the other, then made a fake 'click' sound, chuckling before getting right back to the controls. He felt a little flustered from putting Knuckles' arms around him, but he didn't quite understand why; he was only being playful.

Knuckles' cheeks grew warm, and his face flushed. He didn't really object, though. He just hoped that Sonic wouldn't notice his flustered state.

Sonic relaxed as the plane flew through the sky, the wind blowing through his fur. "I usually ride the wings, but this is fun too," he said. Turning his head, he looked down at all the scenery. "Probably looks weird to you, huh, Knux?"

"Yeah..."

This world was definitely nothing like Knuckles' world. But that wasn't a bad thing. He was very intrigued by this world, and he hoped to see more of it soon.


	3. Chapter 3

"...Oh, hey! There's Angel Island!" Sonic exclaimed, pointing to a large island floating over the ocean. He handled the controls gently, wanting to make a safe landing.  
"Oh wow..." It was the one thing in this world that looked familiar to Knuckles. Everything else may have been different, but this dimension's Angel Island looked a lot like his childhood home.  
Sonic was pretty amused at how amazed Knuckles was; it was pretty cute to him.

He landed the plane down, then moved away from his 'seatbelt' and got up, hopping out of the plane.  
Just as Sonic had described, a 'smaller version of Knuckles' sat at the top of a shrine, right in front of a gigantic green emerald. He looked down to Sonic, mildly unamused. "What do you want, Sonic?"  
Sonic smirked. "Well hello to you too, sunshine."

"Hi!" The taller Knuckles called out, jumping out of the plane seat. He could barely contain his excitement over getting to meet himself. "I'm you from another dimension!"  
His smaller double blinked, staring at him. "Uh..." He frowned, then looked over to Sonic. "Okay, what'd you do?"  
"Nothing!" Sonic said with a small laugh. "He's serious. He accidentally came here from another dimension and I'm just helpin' him get back home!"  
"...Really?" he asked, raising a brow disbelievingly as he stared at his clearly-different counterpart.

The taller Knuckles ran up to the shorter Knuckles.  
"Hi Knuckles, I'm Knuckles!" he said. "Though of course you probably knew that. Do you like grapes? Wait, of course you do, you're me! Oh my gosh, can I call you Knuckles Junior? Oooh, how strong are you? You don't look very strong--no offense. Hey, do you play piano?" Knuckles rambled on and on.  
Sonic covered his mouth and tried his best not to snicker.  
The clearly-much-more-annoyed Knuckles raised a brow up as his large counterpart rambled. He took some offense at apparently not looking strong to him and his 'Knuckles Junior' comment, then held a hand out. "You wanna go right now then, 'tough guy'?" he asked.  
"Take him to school, big Knux!" Sonic cheered, waving his hands in the air and wanting to tease the smaller Knuckles as much as he could.  
Knuckles (the taller one) gave Sonic a confused glance. "But I don't know where to find a school!"  
Sonic tried again not to snicker. "It's alright! I meant 'show him how strong ya are'!"  
The smaller Knuckles huffed, taking the opportunity to beat his counterpart since he was distracted. In a swift motion, he picked him up despite the size difference, then threw him off the shrine.  
"Foul play!" Sonic said, pouting slightly.  
Knuckles (the one who got thrown) stood back up, barely fazed.  
"Wow, I'm awesome!" he exclaimed, referring to his shorter self. "Hey, you should totally consider being my sidekick!" He was only half-teasing when he said that.  
" _S-sidekick_?" the smaller asked, feeling a bit insulted. He crossed his arms, then looked over to Sonic. "Look, just tell me what you came here for."  
"Oh, right," Sonic said with a chuckle. "Tails said you have a Chaos Emerald and we need it to send the big Knux over here home," he explained, jabbing a thumb at the larger Knuckles.  
"And why should I just hand it over so easily? You're so reckless all the time, how do I know if I can trust you with it?" he asked, pulling out a red Chaos Emerald to show it to him. "You'll probably drop it on the way back..."  
Sonic frowned. "Hey, c'mon! Gimme _some_ credit!"  
A sigh quickly followed from the smaller Knuckles, who held out the emerald to his counterpart, though not quite sure if he could trust him. He was a little too... cheery, for his liking. "Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."  
The taller Knuckles grinned. "You can count on me!"  
For a moment, he was distracted by how pretty and shiny the emerald was. Then he remembered what he was here for, and carefully took it from his counterpart.  
"Thanks, Me!"  
Sonic sped back to the plane and waved to the larger Knuckles. "Let's get goin' then!"  
"Okay!" Knuckles replied with a smile.  
He waved at the smaller Knuckles. "Bye! It was nice meeting me!"  
He waved back, though clearly still confused at what had just occurred.

Sonic hopped onto the wing, then waited patiently for his 'seatbelt' to get into position.  
Knuckles hopped into the seat. "Ready when you are!"  
Sonic nodded, sitting down on Knuckles' lap and readying the plane for take-off. He couldn't imagine what the other Knuckles was thinking seeing them so close like that, but it still made him a little flustered. "Here we go!"

The plane lifted off, and the two were up in the sky once again.  
"So...where are we going now?" Knuckles asked.  
"I guess we go after the Chaos Emerald next," Sonic replied. He paused, then giggled and tried to look up at Knuckles from the position he was in. "The way you were throwin' questions at him reminded me a lot of Cream, y'know?"  
"Cream?" Knuckles was confused. "What are you talking about?"  
Sonic stared at him, shocked. "You don't have a Cream in your world? Oh, you've gotta meet her then! Her and Vanilla and Cheese are just—" He stopped himself before he turned the plane in a different direction, frowning a little. "Oh, uh, right. You're probably in a hurry to get back home, huh?"  
Knuckles hesitated. "Well...I don't mind staying a bit longer..." he said. Truth was, he didn't really want to leave just yet.  
Sonic quickly brightened back up, thought he tried not to look _too_ excited. "So, y'don't mind a little detour?" he asked.  
"Not at all!" Knuckles replied. "I'd like to meet Cream."

Sonic changed directions on the plane, and the two eventually found themselves at Vanilla's house. Sonic hopped out excitedly, then headed for the door, knocking as politely as he could.  
There were sounds of light footsteps coming from the other side until the door open, a young rabbit standing in the doorway. Her face instantly lit up as she saw Sonic. "Mister Sonic! What a nice surprise!"  
The blue hedgehog giggled. "Yo, Cream! I brought a new friend with me today to meet cha."  
"A new friend?" she asked, her eyes growing wide with curiosity.  
"Mhm!" Sonic nodded firmly. "It's a little hard to believe, but he's Knuckles from another universe!"  
Her curiosity peeked, Cream leaned to the side to stare at the plane, looking up at Knuckles. She flapped her ears, then flew up to him. "Hello, Mister Knuckles!" she exclaimed, holding her hand out politely. "I'm Cream the Rabbit!"  
Knuckles smiled. _Oh my gosh, she's so cute!_  
"And I'm Knuckles!" He gently shook her hand. "Nice to meet ya, Cream!"  
A larger rabbit peeked her head out of the doorway, having heard the earlier conversation. "Hello, Knuckles! Would you like to come in?"  
Sonic turned to her. "Hey, Vanilla! Yup, me and Knux came to hang out for a bit. He wanted to meet you guys!" he explained.  
"Then please, come in!" she said with a smile, gesturing inside.  
Sonic smiled and walked in, with Cream following closely behind.  
Knuckles followed everyone inside the house.  
"Wow..." he said as he looked around. "Nice place!"  
"Thank you! I always try to keep it clean in cause I get surprise guests; like today!" Vanilla said with a giggle, walking over and sitting down on the couch.

As soon as she was done speaking, a blur of light blue suddenly rushed at Knuckles, hugging him tight.  
"Oh, sorry! That's my chao friend, Cheese," Cream told him. "He _loves_ meeting new people!"  
"I've never heard of a chao before," Knuckles said. He smiled at the little creature.  
"You're a cute little guy!" he said with a chuckle.  
"Chao cha!" Cheese exclaimed in reply, wiggling its arms excitedly.  
"Let me show you around!" Cream said as she gently grabbed Knuckles' hand. "This is the living room." She pointed to the floor with her free hand. "That's the kitchen." She pointed to her right, the carpet transitioning into a tiled floor as the kitchen was connected to it. "Oh, and upstairs is my room and Mama's room!" she added, tugging on Knuckles' arm to lead him upstairs.  
Knuckles followed Cream upstairs, grinning at her excitement. He found it adorable.

The young rabbit led him into her room, which was filled with assorted toys and plushes. "Like it?" She asked, releasing Knuckles' hand and twirling around, promptly throwing her hands out.  
"Yeah!" Knuckles replied. "It's really nice!"  
"I even have plushes of all my friends!" Cream told him. She went over to her plush collection, then showed him each of her plushes one by one.  
"...here's Miss Amy, here's Mister Knuckles, here's Tails..." She then held out a Sonic plush. "and Mister Sonic, of course!"  
"Cool!" Knuckles replied with a smile.  
As Cream put the plush back down, she couldn't help but notice Knuckles' extra focus on the Sonic plush. "...Ah, which one's your favorite?" she asked.  
"That's a tough choice..." Knuckles replied.  
_The Sonic one,_ he wanted to say.  
"... _This_ one?" Cream asked, holding out the Sonic plush once more, an almost-innocent smile on her face.  
"U-um..." Knuckles stammered. He couldn't stop himself from blushing.  
Cream giggled. "You must really like Mister Sonic, huh?"  
"Uh...I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Knuckles responded, smiling nervously.  
"But you're blushing," Cream pointed out, pointing at Knuckles' face.

Vanilla poked her head into the doorway. "Is he?" she asked, walking inside. "Sorry. Sonic left to go deliver the Chaos Emerald to Tails and I couldn't help over-hearing," she added, holding out one of her long ears.  
Knuckles' face flushed even more in embarrassment. "I, u-uh..." He had no idea what to even say.  
Vanilla looked over to Cream. "Cream, you shouldn't pry into matters that aren't your business," she said sternly, though also being very gentle. "...But..."  
She turned her attention back to Knuckles and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I've been around many people in my days and I know how to read someone's expressions. Something's bothering you about that, right?"  
Knuckles sighed. "I-I dunno...I guess I kinda, sorta, um..." He brought his voice down to a whisper, blushing hard. "...have a teeny tiny little crush on him maybe?"  
It was an understatement for sure, but he was too embarrassed to say what he really felt. But somehow, even though he'd only just met them, he felt safe talking to Vanilla and Cream.  
Vanilla smiled softly. "There you go. That must feel at least a little better," she said.

She gently grabbed his hand, then took him back downstairs, sitting him on the couch and taking a seat next to him. "If something's bothering you, you don't have to bottle it up. You can tell me," she told him.  
"Yeah!" Cream exclaimed as she came downstairs. "Mama's like a mama to everyone!"  
Vanilla giggled, though waved a hand dismissively, knowing that it'd probably be a more comfortable experience for Knuckles if it was one-on-one. "Cream, how about you take Cheese up to your room with you and play for a while?"  
Getting the message, the young rabbit nodded, picking Cheese up and taking him upstairs with her.  
"That should help things along," Vanilla muttered softly, gazing at Knuckles. "Would you like some tea?"  
"S-sure," Knuckles answered. He hoped it might calm his nerves a bit.  
Vanilla nodded sweetly, getting up and heading over to the kitchen. She took a little long to make the tea, but she seemed to want it to be perfect.

Once she was done with it, she poured it into a cup, which she cradled gently in her hands and took out to Knuckles. "Here," she said, handing it to him and sitting next to him once more. "I won't make you tell me anything you don't want to; I'm only here to listen to what you want to say," she assured.  
Knuckles nodded and took a sip of the tea. It was hot, but he didn't really mind. It tasted wonderful, and it was very soothing.  
"Well..." He hesitated, not really sure where to begin. "B-back in my dimension, I had a...a crush on...Sonic, but he's already dating someone. And then I ended up in this world, and...I think I love the Sonic here even more..."  
He sighed sadly. "Problem is, I'm gonna have to go back home soon. And then...I'll never see him again..."  
_Wow,_ Knuckles thought, _talking about it does help me feel a little better!_  
Vanilla giggled. "Isn't that sweet..."  
She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "And let me guess; now that you've seen that the other Sonic has someone to love, you're even more afraid to tell this one how you feel?"  
"Yeah..." Knuckles replied. "And besides, it won't matter anyway--like I said, I'll have to go back to my dimension soon."  
"That's one way to look at it..." Vanilla mumbled, staring down at the floor. "But... are you sure you'd rather go back without saying anything?"  
"I...I don't know..." Knuckles sighed again. "I dunno what to do. I guess I'm scared that if I confess...it'll hurt even more when I go back, y'know?"  
"That's a fair point too," Vanilla said, saddening at the thought. "And I know you're worried about him not reciprocating your feelings as well. Still... if he _does_ like you back, wouldn't it be nice to share at least one kiss before you left?" she asked. "Obviously, I wouldn't know of such matters, but _I'd_ want a nice long kiss if I knew I'd never see the one I loved ever again..."  
Knuckles was silent for a little while. Vanilla made a good point, but he still wasn't sure if he should confess to Sonic. He wanted so badly to tell him...but how would he move on with his life once they were separated?  
Vanilla smiled softly. "Don't worry. Things'll work out, I'm sure." She giggled. "Either way, you both seem to have made each other very happy during your time together, if nothing else. Sonic smiles often, but his smile seemed a little wider this time around."  
Knuckles turned his head to look at her. "Really?"  
Vanilla nodded. "I think so. He certainly looked happier than usual when I saw him with you earlier."

Suddenly, the front door opened, and Sonic walked through with his usual smile on. "Hey, sorry it took a while~" he said, closing the door behind him with his foot.  
"Oh, Sonic!" Vanilla said. "We were just talking about you."  
"Yeah?" Sonic asked, eyebrows raised in curiosity. "What about?"  
Vanilla smiled softly. "It's a secret."  
Knuckles took a big sip of what was left of his tea, hoping Sonic couldn't see how flustered he now was.  
"Secret?" Sonic questioned, pouting a little. He chuckled right afterwards though, to let them know that he wasn't mad. "Alright then."  
"So, Knuckles," Vanilla said, looking over at the echidna. "I'm sure you and Sonic probably have places to be, but would you like to spend some more time here? I'd be happy to make you lunch later!" she offered.  
"If it's okay with Sonic," Knuckles replied, glancing hopefully at the hedgehog. Not only was he enjoying his time spent with Cream and Vanilla, but he was also excited by the idea of getting some lunch.  
Sonic grinned. "A'course! Whatever you want's fine with me!"

And so, the two decided to spend the next few hours at Vanilla's house. They talked, had lunch, played games, and Cream even got Knuckles and Sonic to play with her plushies for a while.  
Though, the fun didn't last forever, and both Sonic and Knuckles acknowledged that they _were_ sent on a mission by Tails; they were probably slacking too much by hanging around and not searching for the emerald.

As they started to leave though, Cream rushed up to Knuckles and lightly tugged on his hand, holding something behind her back. "Mister Knuckles?" she asked, making a gesture to signal him to come closer.  
"What is it, Cream?" Knuckles asked with a soft smile.  
She pulled out the Sonic plush and lowered her voice. "I want you to have this. I'll leave it with Tails so you can take it back home with you, okay?" she whispered.  
Knuckles was touched by this. "Aww, are you sure?"  
Cream nodded, smiling wide at him. "Mhm!"  
"Thank you, that's so nice of you!" Knuckles gave Cream a light hug.  
"I'll miss you," he said as he began to head out.  
Cream waved. "I'll miss you too!"

Sonic was already outside, sitting on the plane and waiting for Knuckles.  
He smiled and looked at Knuckles. "Ready to get movin'? It's a pretty long ride to where the emerald is," he said.  
"Yeah, I'm ready," Knuckles replied.  
He got into the plane seat once more.  
Sonic sat on his lap and flew the plane back up into the sky. "I'll try to get us there as fast as I can," he said, adjusting the controls as needed.  
Knuckles was still flustered by having Sonic in his lap, but he decided to enjoy being so close to him while he still could.


	4. Chapter 4

Like Sonic had said, the ride was long; it was probably late afternoon when they finally reached their destination. A large temple stood before them, but not much else.  
"Hm..." Sonic looked back at the map to ensure that the device was indeed glowing. He sped around to different spots of the area to confirm, then looked at Knuckles. "Guess it's in there."  
"After you, then!" Knuckles replied.  
Sonic nodded, then headed inside. The place was pretty dark, but there were a few torches lighting the way.

"Hm... ah?" Sonic paused and looked away from the map, suddenly feeling the ground shaking. The floor below gave way underneath them, and the two plummeted downwards, hitting off walls from what they could only describe as a jagged pass. The fall seemed to take forever, and no matter how many times they tried to grab for something, they never could.

Knuckles landed first, with Sonic landing right on top of him, shielding him from the pain of the fall. He groaned, looking up to see how much they'd fallen, but the ceiling quickly closed up, preventing him from doing so. He sighed, then stared at Knuckles. "S-sorry. You alright?" he asked.  
Knuckles grunted. "I'll be fine...ow..."  
He slowly sat up. "Wha...where are we?"  
Sonic looked around sadly. "I guess we're at the bottom of the temple. We probably hit a trap..."  
"There's gotta be a way out of here!" Knuckles replied.  
"We better go lookin' then," Sonic suggested. "But the Chaos Emerald might be down here too..." He stared at the device on the map, then sped about and tested how much it was glowing and blinking. "Uh... this way, I think," he said, pointing down one of the dozen hallways.  
"Great," Knuckles responded, "how will we know which way to go?"  
"If it's just a straight path, it'll probably be this way," Sonic told him, going down the path. "If not, I guess we'll just have to wing it."  
The walls weren't lined with many torches this time, so the walls were too dim to really see, but Sonic kept going anyway.

Unfortunately, as it turned out, the place was like a maze, going every which way, making it particularly hard to figure out where to go.

The two eventually hit a dead end, and Sonic sighed loudly. "This is impossible," he mumbled. Though knowing it likely wouldn't help them, he picked up one of the few torches on the wall. As he moved it away though, the wall of the dead end suddenly caught his interest. "Hm?"  
He lifted the torch closer, seeing that there seemed to be text written into it. However, it was in a whole 'nother language that Sonic couldn't read.  
"Oh, real helpful," he said sarcastically, though smiling in hopes of staying optimistic. "I thought it was something _useful_ at first..."  
Knuckles gazed at the writing.  
"Wait...I know this language!" he said, his eyes widening. He turned around and pointed to the left. "This way!"  
Sonic turned to Knuckles, clearly surprised. "You can actually read this?" he asked. "That's amazing!"  
Knuckles blushed. "Th-thanks. Mobian is actually my second language. This--" he pointed at the ancient text, "--is the ancient Echidna language. I haven't seen anyone use it in years!"  
"Whoa." Sonic looked back at the wall, then lightly patted it. "Sorry I doubted you, text," he said with a giggle. "Alright, lead the way then, Knux!"

The two followed the pathway to the left, going down what seemed to be an endless corridor until they were finally led to a large empty room lit with torches. Raising a brow, Sonic walked around, accidentally finding a platform that glowed when he stepped on it.  
He tested it for a few seconds, but nothing happened. "Hmm..." He then got an idea and turned to Knuckles. "Step here for a sec," he said, pointing at the platform.  
"Uh...okay."  
Knuckles obeyed and stepped on the platform. "Now what?"  
Sonic looked around, and text suddenly formed itself on the wall. "Alright, what's that say?" he asked, pointing to it.  
Knuckles studied it carefully. "'If your intentions are pure, your prize shall be immediate...' What's that supposed to mean?"  
Sonic shrugged, then turned as part of the ground began to deform. Only a few seconds later, the Chaos Emerald appeared through it, the ground changing back to normal as it rested on top. "Huh. Guess some spirit mumbo-jumbo or something is watchin' over the temple?" Sonic suggested, walking up and grabbing the emerald. "I've seen weirder. Now, how do we get ou—"  
The floor suddenly gave way under the two once again, and they fell through a long tube-like corridor. Knuckles was the first to be spit out onto the grounds outside the temple, with Sonic quickly following, being thrown into the air a bit more due to his lighter weight.  
Knuckles caught him before he could hit the ground.  
"You okay?" he asked the hedgehog.  
Sonic flushed a bit. "Yup, no problem!"  
He hopped out of Knuckles' grasp, then showed him the white Chaos Emerald. "We got it though!" he exclaimed. "But..." He stared up at the sky. "We must've been in there for a while. It's way dark and I don't trust how those clouds're formin'..." he said.  
"What should we do?" asked Knuckles.  
"I guess we should probably try to get back to Tails' place anyway," Sonic said. "If we're fast enough, we might be able to make it." He jumped up onto the plane, then stuck the emerald into the storage compartment.  
"Alright, if you say so."  
Knuckles sat down in the plane seat.  
Sonic sat on Knuckles lap and started up the plane.

As the two took off, however, problems quickly started to arise. The clouds got dark and heavy, rain beginning to pour down. Time went on, and the wind began to pick up, occasionally causing the plane to swerve left and right. Sonic attempted to contact Tails, but to no avail.  
"Ngh..." The blue hedgehog struggled to keep the plane steady, but things got more dangerous as time went on. Even with the Tornado's lights on, he could hardly see.  
"O-okay, this isn't working," Sonic admitted. A lightning bolt went off in the distance, causing him to flinch. "Alright, we're _officially_ landing!"  
Knuckles had no objection to that. "Sounds good to me!"

Once they landed, they began to search for shelter. Soon, Knuckles spotted a cave.  
"There!" he said, pointing at the cave. "We can stay in there for a while."  
Sonic fled into the cave with Knuckles, then shook the bits of water out of his fur. "Yikes. Probably shoulda just stayed in the temple until morning..." he said, looking slightly apologetic.  
"It's okay," Knuckles replied with a small smile. "At least we have shelter now!"  
Sonic nodded. "Yeah, that's one plus!"  
He gazed outside, trying to make see as far as he could despite the rain getting heavier. "Oh! I know this place. I've been here before. There's some fruit trees nearby." He turned to Knuckles. "Are ya hungry? I could dash out real quick and grab some fruit for us."  
"Oh, no, I'm fine," Knuckles replied. Truth was, he actually was pretty hungry, but he didn't want to make Sonic go out in the rain.  
However, he was betrayed by his growling stomach.  
Sonic ears perked at the growling, his face quickly turning determined. "I'll be right back."  
Without waiting for Knuckles' reply, he ran outside, stopping by the Tornado to grab a bag from the storage compartment and promptly speeding into the forest.  
"Careful out there," Knuckles said, even though Sonic obviously couldn't hear him. He knew he was probably worrying too much, but he didn't want Sonic to get struck by lightning or something.

After a few minutes too many, Sonic finally came back into view, though at a much slower pace than he had left with. As he came closer, it became apparent that he was soaking wet, his body clearly cold and shivering. He had the bag held close to his chest, probably to keep it from getting too wet.  
"H-h-hey!" he said, trying and failing to keep himself from stuttering. Once in the cave, he sat down and held the bag out to Knuckles, his ears drooping down as water continued to drip from them. "T-this should be e-enough for ya, h-heh..."  
"Sonic, you're soaking wet!" Knuckles exclaimed. He didn't like seeing him so cold.  
"Here." He wrapped his arms around Sonic and held the shivering hedgehog close to his body. Caves didn't exactly have blankets, so this would have to do.  
"A-ah," Sonic mumbled as Knuckles pulled him close. He blushed a little, but tried not to get too comfortable. "Y-yeah, I might b-be soaking, but y-you'll be soaked too i-if ya hold me like this!" he warned.  
"It's fine," Knuckles replied with a soft smile. "I just don't wanna let you freeze to death."  
Sonic let out a small grunt, his blush getting redder. He didn't want to trouble Knuckles, but freezing wasn't exactly a favorable option either.  
He stared down at his hands, then removed his gloves, wringing them out and seeing that they formed a large puddle on the cave floor. "G-geez..." He dropped them, hoping they'd be dry by tomorrow; it wouldn't help anything if they stayed on his hands.  
He then grabbed the bag, opening it up and holding out some fruit. "Here. I-I'm not that hungry," he told him to insist that Knuckles have what he gathered. The bag wasn't all that large, so he wasn't able to store a lot of fruit. He hated that his stomach betrayed him by growling right after he said that, but that probably made him and Knuckles even.  
Knuckles chuckled a bit. "We can share. I don't mind!"  
Sonic reluctantly agreed, splitting what he'd collected at a rough even with Knuckles (letting Knuckles eat a little more though as he likely had the bigger stomach).

Afterwards, Sonic checked to make sure that all of the fruit was gone, then looked up at Knuckles. "You full? I-I can a-always go back out," he offered.  
"No no, it's fine." Even if he was still a little hungry, Knuckles wasn't going to let Sonic go back out there.  
Sonic felt as though Knuckles was lying a bit, but he knew he wouldn't let him go back out anyway. Though begrudgingly so, he relaxed against the echidna's chest and sighed. "No way that rain's gonna let up anytime soon. Even if it did, it's way too dark to keep going..."  
"We'll have to spend the night, then," Knuckles said.  
He was used to sleeping outdoors or in a cave, so this was almost like home to him.  
"M-mhm," Sonic mumbled sleepily. _This happened last night, didn't it? I was all up against him and fell asleep..._  
He blushed slightly, but knew he didn't have a choice; he much preferred Knuckles' warmth to freezing. "W-what about you... are you cold?" he asked, his shivering slowly becoming less frequent.  
"Nah, I'm good," Knuckles answered. He was used to sleeping in somewhat chilly weather at night, so he didn't really mind.  
"I-if you say so," Sonic murmured, a little too relaxed to really speak much. His shivering slowly came to a stop, and his breathing returned to normal.  
A little later, Knuckles cleared his throat. "So, um, Sonic...I kinda wanted to tell you something...it's just...well...um..." He realized the hedgehog wasn't responding. "Sonic?"  
It was already too late. Sonic's eyes were closed, and he seemed to be in a deep sleep.  
Knuckles was both relieved and disappointed.  
 _Guess I'll have to try telling him tomorrow..._ he thought. He yawned, and soon he too fell asleep, his head gently resting on top of Sonic's.

Early morning soon came, and Sonic flinched as the light hit his eyes from the cave entrance. "M-mm?"  
He opened his eyes and tried to move, but still found Knuckles arms around him and the echidna's head resting on top of his own. He couldn't help blushing, realizing that he could hardly move under his gentle yet firm hold.  
"U-uh... Knuckles?" he called softly, hoping to stir him a little.  
Knuckles made a small noise, but otherwise didn't stir. He wasn't quite ready to leave the dream world yet, it seemed.  
Sonic squeaked helplessly, pouting a bit at his 'captor'. He stared at his gloves on the ground, then slipped them back on. "Hey, Knux!" he said a little louder, placing a hand on Knuckles' cheeks in hopes of awakening him this time.  
Knuckles mumbled a bit in his sleep, blushing a bit from the contact. Slowly, his eyes fluttered open.  
"Hm? Is it morning already?" he asked sleepily.  
Sonic nodded. "Uh, yeah..." He looked around, feeling slightly awkward. "I think it's time to get goin'."  
Reluctantly, Knuckles stretched and yawned, then stood up.  
"Okay, let's go then!"

And with that, the two got back into the plane and took off. Sonic felt a slightly uneasiness now that the time to send Knuckles home was drawing closer, but he tried not to think about it.

Once they arrived at Tails' lab, Sonic removed the Chaos Emerald from its compartment and hopped out, inviting himself in. "Tails, we're back!"  
The fox turned. "Sheesh, you guy took longer than I thought."  
"Were you worried?" Sonic asked with a smirk.  
Tails laughed. "Nah, I figured that you just stopped to eat about a million chili dogs."  
"Me? Stop for chili dogs?" Sonic pretended to look surprised, then just chuckled and tossed the emerald to Tails, who set it inside a machine not unlike the one that Knuckles had punched back in his own world.  
"I just need to make sure everything checks out, and then you'll be good to go," the fox told Knuckles, moving towards his computer and pressing a few keys on his keyboard.  
"So...I guess I'll be going home soon..." Knuckles said quietly. He was glad that he'd get to see his friends again, but he also hated to leave the friends he'd made here--especially Sonic.  
Sonic nodded, unusually quiet at his words. "H-heh, guess so."  
"Oh, by the way!" Tails said. He reached under the table, then pulled out a small gift. "Cream sent this and said that it was for you to take back with you," he explained. The rabbit had probably gift-wrapped the Sonic plush to ensure that no one could see what it was, and therefore not question it; a nice gesture to say the least.  
"Tell her I said thanks!" Knuckles replied with a small smile.  
Tails nodded, then typed in a few more commands on the computer. The machine lit up, a portal appearing in front of it. "Alright, Knuckles. All you have to do is step through and you should be back in your world!"  
Knuckles stared blankly at the portal. "I guess...this is goodbye then..."  
Sonic nodded. "Yeah..."  
He paused, then smiled sheepishly and held a hand out for a handshake. "It was a lotta fun, heh..."  
Knuckles gently took his hand and shook it. "Yeah, it was..."  
He hesitated for a moment. This was his last chance to confess...but did he have the guts?  
"Sonic...I...I..."  
Sonic looked up at him. "Yeah?"  
Knuckles' face flushed. "I, um...I'll really miss you," he said nervously.  
 _Nope. I don't have the guts..._  
Sonic was silent for a moment, then smiled and gave him a thumb's up. "I'll miss ya too!"  
Tails held the present out to Knuckles and simply smiled.  
Knuckles took the present from him. "And I'll miss you!"  
Tails giggled. "I'll miss you too!" It sounded a bit awkward as he said it, but he still wasn't quite used to how different this Knuckles was from the one he knew.  
Knuckles turned back towards the portal. He couldn't help but let out a sad sigh.  
"Bye, guys."  
And before he could change his mind, he stepped through the portal.

There was a flash of light, and Knuckles was suddenly back in his own universe, standing where he had teleported away in the first place. Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Sticks were even standing there, having probably been waiting for him.  
"Welcome back, Knuckles!" Tails exclaimed.  
"Yeah, we were so worried!" Amy said.  
"Good to have ya back," Sonic added, his arm around Amy's waist.  
Seeing Sonic and Amy like that made Knuckles' heart sting a bit. He forced a grin.  
"Hey, guys! It's good to be back."  
Sticks noticed the present in his hands. "What's that? A bomb!?" she asked, rushing forward to snatch it and likely open it.  
Knuckles held it up out of Sticks' reach.  
"It's a goodbye present," he explained. "It's, uh...special," he added, clinging to it protectively.  
Sticks was confused, but accepted it anyway.  
"Anyway, since you're back now, we were thinking of maybe having a movie night to celebrate!" Tails told him.  
"I'd love to," Knuckles replied, "but..." He faked a yawn. "I'm pretty tired from my adventure."  
"Oh." Amy looked a little sad, but quickly perked back up. "We'll do something some other time then!"

The four said their good-byes, then left Knuckles to himself.

Knuckles sighed. He left Tails' lab and walked slowly to his weight lifting equipment. He sat down and began to sulk.   
_Should have I confessed?_ he wondered.  
He looked down at the gift he was holding and decided to open it. Just like Cream had promised, it was the Sonic plush. He held it close to his chest and closed his eyes, sighing softly.  
 _Will I ever be able to move on?_

Meanwhile, on the other side of the portal, which closed shut, Sonic lowered his gaze. It was weird; with Knuckles suddenly gone, he felt oddly empty, like a part of himself had gone with Knuckles.  
"...Sonic, you alright?" Tails asked.  
Sonic quickly perked back up, not wanting to seem off to the fox. "Oh! Uh, yeah!" he said. "Just..." He paused, then suddenly rushed out the door, leaving a confused Tails behind as he sorted out his emotions.


	5. Chapter 5

Back in Bygone Island, an entire day had soon passed since Knuckles' return. He wanted everything to go back to normal, and just have some fun with his friends, but he just felt so...empty. He realized now that he couldn't deny his feelings: he was in love with the other world's Sonic. And now...now he'd never see him again.

"Why couldn't I confess?" he mumbled to himself. "I mean, how hard would it have been to say 'I love you'? Now I'll always feel guilty about it..." Tears began to well up in his eyes as he spoke.  
"How I could be so _stupid_?" he said as he began to sob quietly.

Suddenly, there was a light jabbing at his arm.

"Y'know, you make it really hard to wallop the guy who calls ya 'stupid' when _you're_ that guy."  
Slowly, a blue hedgehog walked in front of him and gave him a smile; a familiar blue hedgehog _certainly_ not of this universe.  
"How am I supposed to keep my promise when ya do somethin' like that?" he asked, crossing his arms and chuckling.  
"S-Sonic?" Knuckles looked up, his eyes wide in shock. He pinched himself, wondering if he was dreaming.

It wasn't a dream.

His vision began to blur as a new set of tears came on. Without thinking, he rushed forward and threw his arms around Sonic, starting to sob. He didn't know how Sonic could even be here, but he didn't care right now.  
Sonic laughed happily, hugging him back. "I told you I'd run to ya, even if I was a universe away, didn't I?" he asked. He pulled away slightly, but only to wipe away Knuckles' tears.  
Knuckles sniffled, but he was smiling brightly. "But...h-how...?"  
"Well..." Sonic smiled sheepishly, unable to make eye contact with him any longer. "Once you left, I...I just missed ya so much, and..." He released Knuckles and backed away, turning around to hide the fact that his eyes were watering. "I knew I just had to see you again, so... I asked Tails to find a way, and he made me _this_."  
Back still facing Knuckles, he showed off his wrist, which was adorned with a small device. "A few clicks, and I end up here. There's, ah... one for you too, if ya want it," he offered, reaching into the cuff of his other glove and pulling out a similar device that was blue in design rather than red. "I think Tails made the blue one for me actually, but..." He chuckled shyly. "I wanted the red one anyway."  
Knuckles blushed. He took the device from Sonic and slipped it on his wrist. He was grinning widely.  
"So now we can visit each other?"  
Sonic wiped his eyes, then turned back to Knuckles. "Yup! Anytime we want," he replied.  
Knuckles' heart leaped for joy. "I...I'm so happy!" he exclaimed. It was difficult to put his joy into words.  
He paused for a moment, thinking. _Should...should I confess now?_

"...So, uh, Knux..." Sonic suddenly mumbled, lightly scratching his nose. He seemed uncomfortable.  
"It... felt weird, y'know; me being so hung up on you after ya left. Don't think I've ever felt so strong about someone leavin' me before."  
He averted his gaze again, a hand shifting to sheepishly rub his arm. "Amy always went on and on about how much she loved me, and Vanilla talked all about these 'love symptoms' like a fast-beating heart and this 'warm fuzzy feeling'. I didn't get what she meant at the time and figured that I'd never really get it, but..."  
He clutched his chest in hopes of quelling his pounding heart, his smile a little strained as he looked back at Knuckles. "I think _this_ might be it."  
Knuckles' eyes widened in surprise. "R-really?" Tears threatened to form again. Could this really be happening?  
Sonic became more shy at his words, his face reddening; he clearly wasn't used to the situation. "Y-yeah! I mean, I figured it was a little weird, but... when I saw ya leave, I..." He laughed uneasily, now trying to hide his face, completely clueless to where he was supposed to go with things now that he confessed.

Knuckles could barely contain his emotions. He suddenly picked up Sonic and twirled him around.  
"Oh my gosh, I meant to confess to you first, but I was just so nervous and..." Everything came tumbling out. "I...I love you!" he was finally able to say.  
Sonic stared at him, a mixture of surprise and joy on his face. "S-seriously?" he asked. "I mean, I know I'm, uh, awesome n' all," he began, struggling to keep up his confident front, "but I figured you'd want someone a little..." He grinned sheepishly. "... _taller_." He seemed a bit ashamed to admit it.  
"Nah, that doesn't matter to me," Knuckles replied with a chuckle. He didn't say it, but he actually thought that Sonic's short height was kind of cute.

Sonic blushed and chuckled with him. "So, heh... what happens now then?" he asked, still feeling a bit awkward about his lack of knowledge on the situation.  
"Uh...I don't know," Knuckles admitted sheepishly.  
"I-I mean... do we...?" Sonic's voice trailed off as he stared up at Knuckles, hoping he'd get the message anyway.  
"Do we what?" Knuckles tilted his head in confusion.  
Sonic flushed, not knowing how to respond. He paused, then simply pointed to Knuckles' mouth before pointing to his own.  
Knuckles was even more confused. "III don't follow."  
Sonic stiffened somewhat, then spread his arms out. "Do we kiss or what?" he asked loudly.  
Immediately realizing what he'd just said, he covered his mouth, his muzzle and ears turning an intense shade of red.  
"Ohhhhhh," Knuckles replied sheepishly. "Well why didn't you say so?"

He brought Sonic closer to him and gently started to kiss him on the lips. He'd never kissed anyone before, so he hoped he was doing it right.  
Sonic let out a small sound of surprise at the sudden kiss, but eventually melted into it. The size difference made it a little awkward, but he still enjoyed it and did his best, knowing that neither of them were really experienced in it.  
Knuckles could still barely believe this was happening. It was like a dream. And yet, here he was in real life, experiencing his first kiss!  
The kiss felt special to Sonic, to say the least. It was his first ever, and from someone who actually shared his feelings? It was pure bliss.

Eventually, he pulled away, staring up at Knuckles with his blush slowly fading. He didn't know what else to do other than smile.  
"I-I love you," was all Knuckles could think to say. He was grinning wider than he even thought possible.  
Sonic shared his grin. "I-I love you too." It felt almost foreign to his mouth; he'd never said it before.

"So, what do you wanna do now?" Knuckles asked. His eyes lit up. "Oh, I know! You want me to show you around the island?"  
Sonic nodded. "Sure, that'd be awesome! Heh, if I run into that other me though, I'm gonna race circles around 'im!" he exclaimed. He started to walk away, but stopped as something occurred to him. "...Wait, so... this whole 'love' thing..." He turned to Knuckles. "Is _that_ what was eatin' at cha yesterday?" he asked. "When you talked about your friends and got all sad... what was up?"  
Knuckles smiled nervously. "Y-yeah, um...you see...I was actually in love with the Sonic here at first, but then he started dating someone else. But then I met you, and, well...I love you even more than I loved him." He blushed as he said this.  
Sonic blushed. "So that's what was goin' on..."  
He mentally giggled; despite his tough appearance and size, Knuckles was a pretty sensitive guy.

"Hey, uh... sit down for a sec actually," he said, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible.  
"O-okay."  
Knuckles sat down on the ground. "What's up?"  
Sonic smiled softly, stepping closer to him and placing his hands on his shoulders. "You coulda told me that whenever, y'know. I wouldn't've thought any different of ya. And besides..." He smirked. "I was guilty of fallin' for someone I only met a while ago too."  
He kissed him to emphasize his point, pulling away slightly after a few seconds, "Then again, only difference is that we could've just done this sooner, heh..."  
Knuckles grinned sheepishly. "Well, at least everything worked out in the end."  
Sonic nodded. "A'course!" He held his hand out. "So, you've got an island to introduce me to?"  
Knuckles took his hand and got to his feet.  
"Sure! Oh, but what should I show you first? It's so hard to decide!"  
Sonic chuckled. "We'll just go in whatever direction and see where it takes us, alright?"

Honestly, he didn't care where they ended up. He'd be happy as long as Knuckles went along with him. And he was sure that Knuckles thought the same about him.

The end...for now!


End file.
